FOR BUSY PROFESSIONALS AND BUSINESS OWNERS
You're good at your job.
So why is the work that matters the hardest to start?
Executive function coaching helps experienced professionals who know what needs doing but can't get started, stay on track or follow through at work. I'm Shari Black, an ICF-PCC coach with 25 years in senior leadership. I help you figure out where your executive function (the brain skills behind planning, prioritizing and starting tasks) breaks down under a real workload, then build simple structures that work on your best days and your more challenging days.
No ADHD diagnosis required.
One-One
Virtual across Canada, North America. In Person in Kingston, Ontario
ICF-PCC Certified
Rather skip the call? Book a Stop Spinning Session ($197 CAD)
WHAT'S ACTUALLY GOING ON
It isn't your work ethic. You're carrying too much.
Executive function is what lets you plan the day, decide what matters, start the hard thing and get back to it after an interruption. With a light load, you'd barely notice it. On a quiet week you barely notice it. Add back-to-back meetings, a full inbox, people who need answers now and a big project with no obvious first step, and it's the first thing to give out. That's true with or without ADHD.
If you're experienced and still struggling, it usually means your workload has outgrown the way you've always managed it. It doesn't mean you've lost your edge.
It isn't your work ethic. You're carrying too much.
Executive function is what lets you plan the day, decide what matters, start the hard thing and get back to it after an interruption. On a quiet week, you'd barely notice it. Add back-to-back meetings, a full inbox, people who need answers now and a big project with no obvious first step, and it's the first thing to give out. That's true with or without ADHD.
If you're experienced and still struggling, it usually means your workload has outgrown the way you've always managed it. It doesn't mean you've lost your edge.
The inbox runs your day
You're reacting from the minute you log on. The work that actually moves things forward waits until evening.
The big project keeps moving to tomorrow
You know it matters. That's part of why it's so hard to start.
Meetings eat your thinking time
The hour you blocked for focused work keeps getting handed to someone else.
Small things pile up
Invoices, follow-ups, the email you meant to send last week. Each one is quick. Together they're a weight.
You shut down, then catch up
When it all lands at once, you freeze. Then you work late to make up for it.
You still look fine
Nobody at work would guess. You're just not sure how much longer you can keep it up.
The cost shows up in places your manager never sees: late nights, poor sleep, invoices sent late, the sales call you never made, and less time with the people at home.
People who are good at what they do, carrying more than they can manage.
Most of my clients are between 35 and 60, well into their careers, and used to being the one who gets things done. Some run their own business. Some lead teams. Many have tried the apps, the planners and the five a.m. routines. Those tools were built for someone else's brain. We start with yours.
- Lawyers
- Realtors
- Consultants
- Engineers
- Technical architects
- Quality managers
- Clinicians
- Nonprofit leaders
- Business owners
- Entrepreneurs
- And other busy professionals
This probably isn't for you if you're looking for a new app, a pep talk or a quick fix. It takes honesty and some effort on your part. I'll bring the structure.
THE BASIC METHOD
Five Lenses, not five steps.
Most programs walk you through stages in order, whether or not that's where you're stuck. I don't work that way. Each session starts with what you need most right now. Some weeks that's getting your head above water. Other weeks it's finally starting the thing you've been circling for a month.
Most sessions draw on two or three lenses. Over 12 sessions, we cover all five.
B
Baseline
GETTING STEADY
When everything feels urgent, we start by stopping the freefall. We look at how you actually think and work: your best hours, your habits, where things tend to fall apart. Nothing gets built until we know who it's being built for.
A
Audit
SEEING EVERYTHING ON YOUR PLATE
You can't fix what you can't see. We get everything you're carrying out of your head and onto the table, including the things you've stopped noticing. For a lot of people, this is when the exhaustion finally makes sense.
S
SIMPLIFY
CUTTING IT DOWN TO WHAT MATTERS
Not everything deserves the same weight. We decide what comes first, what can wait, what isn't yours and what can go. Then we strip your tools and routines back to the version you'd actually use on a bad day.
I
Initiate
GETTING STARTED AND FOLLOWING THROUGH
Starting is a design problem, not a willpower problem. We find the one move that gets you going, practise it until it holds, and plan how you get back on track when you fall off. You will fall off. That's normal, and it's part of the plan.
C
CALIBRATE
KEEPING IT WORKING AS LIFE CHANGES
Your workload shifts. Your sleep goes sideways. A big project lands. Calibrate is how we check what's holding, figure out why something slipped, and adjust before everything unravels. It's what turns a good month into something that lasts.
Two ways to start. Pick the one that fits.
Stop Spinning
$197 CAD | 60 minutes
Best if you want answers quickly, want to see how I work first, or aren't ready to commit to a full program.
- A short questionnaire before we meet, so we start with clarity
- We map exactly where things are getting stuck for you
- A one-page summary with your first move, within 24 hours
- Join the BASIC Method within 30 days and your $197 comes off the program price
The BASIC Method
$2,400 CAD + HST | 12 sessions
Best if this has been going on for a while and you want to fix it properly, with support while new habits take hold.
- 12 private 60-minute sessions over about three to six months
- A written summary and action plan after every session
- Support between sessions by text, email or phone
- Built around your brain, your workload and your week
Not sure which? Book the complimentary call and we'll figure it out together.
THE REALITY
This isn't a motivation problem. It never was.
Procrastination, task avoidance, and the inability to start the work that matters - these aren't character flaws. They're what happens when your executive function is operating past its limits.
The more important the work, the harder it can be to start. Not because you don't care. By the time you sit down, your cognitive control is already depleted. The pile got heavier. The pressure got louder. And nothing around you is designed to help you manage any of it.
You're doing what you've always done. It's just stopped working. And every workaround you build - the lists, the timers, the apps, the new routines - adds more complexity on top of an already overloaded system.
Until you understand exactly where your follow-through is breaking down, and why, nothing you try will stick. That's not a personal failure. That's a design problem.
And design problems have design solutions.
01
Your brain first
Everything we build is designed for how you actually think, not how a productivity book says you should.
02
Simple wins
If you can't use it on your own, under pressure, on a hard Tuesday, it doesn't count. We keep cutting until it's the smallest version that still works.
03
One thing at a time
Your instinct will be to add more. I'll talk you out of it. We get one thing working before we add the next.
04
I'll tell you the truth
If something isn't working, I'll say so. If what you came in with isn't the real problem, I'll say that too. Kindly, but I'll say it.
05
Your body is part of this
Sleep, stress, hormones and health set the ceiling
on what any plan can do. When things stop working,
the first question isn't what's wrong with the plan.
It's what's going on with you.
"You're spending more energy avoiding the important
work than actually doing it. And the harder you try to
push through the worse it gets."
SHARI BLACK | ICF | EXECUTIVE FUNCTION CONSULTANT | ADHD & HABIT COACH
What Changes
Where you are now vs. where you finish.
"I feel behind before the day even starts."
→ You open your laptop knowing exactly what you're doing first. No scanning. Just starting.
"I'm busy all day but nothing important moves."
→ The work that matters is the work that gets done. Busy work stops masquerading as productivity.
"I keep dropping the ball and I can't explain why."
→ You understand exactly where things break down for you — and you have a system that accounts for it.
"I've tried everything and nothing sticks."
→ You stop building solutions on top of a problem you haven't properly diagnosed. This is the diagnosis.
"I still look competent. Inside I feel unreliable."
→ The outside and inside match again. Your manager, your clients, your family — and you — can count on you.
"I'm losing trust in my own follow-through."
→ You trust yourself again. Not as an aspiration. As a consistent, demonstrated fact.
ICF-PCC CERTIFIED
25 CORPORATE EXPERIENCE
CERTIFIED HABIT COACH
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER
WHO I AM
An executive function
consultant who has actually
been where you are.
I'm not a productivity guru with a framework I built in a weekend. I'm a former CEO who spent 25 years watching capable, intelligent professionals quietly lose trust in themselves. What I have always been able to do - before there was a method attached to it - is see exactly what's happening in how someone gets important things done when they can't see it themselves. The BASIC Method exists to make what I see useful to you.
My background is in executive leadership, HR, and non-profit operations. I understand what it means to carry a complex workload under real pressure - the kind where you're responsible for outcomes, people are counting on you, and the work still isn't moving. I've lived that. I've worked through it. And I've worked with countless people through it.
I'm an ICF-ACC certified coach & Professional Organizer and I work exclusively in executive function consulting, habits and ADHD. Not general life coaching. Not mindset work. Not another system to add to the pile. Everything I do is built around knowing what you need to do and not being able to make yourself do it consistently - even though you have the skills, the experience, and the capability. Most of the people I work with already know they're capable. What they've lost is trust in their own follow-through. This is what we rebuild.
The BASIC Method is the most comprehensive version of this work I offer. It's not for everyone. But if it's for you, it will change how you work and it will change your results.
Twelve sessions, built around you.
- 12 one-on-one sessions, 60 minutes each, usually every one to two weeks (about three to six months in total)
- A written summary and action plan after every session
- Support between sessions by text, email or phone when something comes up
- Tools and templates shaped to how you work, not off the shelf
- When you finish, the option to keep going with monthly Calibrate Check-ins
Most of my clients have been stuck for years before they reach out. That has a cost too: the opportunities that slipped by, the evenings spent catching up, and the slow loss of confidence in yourself. It's worth weighing against the price.
$2,400 CAD plus applicable taxes
For all 12 sessions, or three monthly payments of $900 plus applicable taxes.
Many employers cover coaching from a professional development budget. I'm happy to provide an invoice and a short program description for your manager.
Book your complimentary callIn their words.
"I felt like I had tried everything. Shari didn't give me another system. She showed me exactly where mine was breaking down and we rebuilt it from there."Rory, Tax Accountant
"I looked capable. Nobody would have guessed how overwhelmed I was. I was dropping the ball and I couldn't explain why. Now I can. And it's stopped."Liam, Creative Director
"I came in convinced I knew what the problem was. Working with Shari gave me perspective and more capacity, and I learned to trust my follow-through for the first time in years."Cathy, Nonprofit Executive Director
No pitch, no pressure. Just a straight answer.
Pick a time
The call is complimentary and takes 30 minutes, by phone or video. There's nothing to prepare.
We talk
You tell me what's going on at work. I'll ask questions and tell you honestly what I see.
You decide
I'll tell you whether Stop Spinning, the BASIC Method or something else makes the most sense for you. If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What people ask before they book.
What does executive function look like at work?
At work, executive function is what lets you plan your day, decide what matters most, start a task before the deadline forces you to, move between meetings and focused work, and remember what you promised people. When you're stretched too thin, you see the important work slide, days run by the inbox, missed follow-ups and late nights catching up. That's a sign you're carrying too much, not a character flaw.
Do I need an ADHD diagnosis to work with you?
No. Some of my clients have ADHD, some suspect it, and many have never been assessed. The struggles I work with, like trouble starting important work, shutting down when everything piles up and losing trust in your own follow-through, show up in plenty of capable professionals. If you know what needs doing and can't make yourself do it, that's enough to start.
Is this therapy?
Is this Therapy?
No. I'm an ICF-PCC credentialed coach, not a therapist or a clinician, and I don't assess or treat ADHD or any mental health condition. Coaching focuses on the practical, day-to-day side of how you get things done. Many of my clients work with me alongside a therapist, doctor or psychiatrist, and the two fit together well.
How much time does this take every week?
Sessions are scheduled to fit your calendar — typically every 1–2 weeks. Each session is 60 minutes. Between sessions, there's no homework for homework's sake. Everything we work on is designed to integrate directly into your existing work — not add to the pile.
Should I start with Stop Spinning or the BASIC Method?
Start with Stop Spinning if you want answers quickly, want to see how I work first, or aren't ready to commit to 12 sessions. Choose the BASIC Method if this has been going on for a while and you want to fix it properly, with support while new habits take hold. If you're not sure, book the complimentary call and we'll figure it out together.
Can my employer pay for coaching?
Can my employer pay for coaching?
Often, yes. Many employers will cover coaching from a professional development or training budget, especially when it's tied to performance at work. I'm happy to provide an invoice and a short program description you can pass to your manager or HR. If you're self-employed, talk to your accountant about whether it counts as a business expense.
You've read this far for a reason.
Thirty minutes is enough to find out whether I can help. If I can't, you'll still leave with a clearer idea of what's going on.